Contents

Preface 2

Audio material 2

Speakers position 3

⇠ e Chain 4

List of Italian terms 6

List of instruments used 7

Acknowledgments 7

Preface

Viginti Unus is a number of various qualities. It can by upsetting, joyful, threatening, sarcastic, frightening, painful, unpredictable, tragic, but nevertheless it is a digit that is a relief from anxiousness…

Also that number is odd, but it is absolutely symmetrical…

At the same time it is the numeral that has permanently followed me all my life…

Audio material

For the audio tracks, those are decoded into the AC3 surround sound format, only real audio samples were used. % ese ones were taken by the composer from live real instruments.

% e audio material was specially designed or sometimes lightly manipulated by the author with some &lters, LFO s or produced through a few basic e*ects. % e character of Viginti Unus largely remains an acoustic piece, without the combining heavily manipulated synthetic sounds.

% e digital OUTPUT s of the DVD machine has to be connected to a surround sound system, please read the next paragraph about the speakers setup.

Speakers positionsexample 1

On the image below you can &nd the speakers set up in relation to the musicians and the audience.

In this piece one has to use the 5.1 channel surround system. % e di*erence of the usual cinema situation is that the Centre speaker is placed behind the listeners instead of front of them.

% e second important detail is that the Rear Le1 and Rear Right speakers are turned with the front side to the back walls, so the audience will get a di*used and re2ected sound from the back. % is way will reduce the “sweet spot” and it should create some unde&ned “sound &elds”, like the idea of being somewhere in the space.

% e Centre speaker should directly face the audience in the normal way (i.e. front facing) (ex.1).

Just take a look at this:

⇠ e Chainexample 2

% e “Chain” is an important philosophical symbol; releasing or losing it is like leavingforever… . It is an essential component in the production of Viginti Unus.

Hence do not underestimate the idea of using it in Viginti Unus and prepare everything asdesigned.

% e chain has to be rough, with c.a. 7 cm of each link and total length of at least 5 meters. Oneend of it should fasten to a strong &shing line above the iron plate and it has to be hanged precisely so that the other end can almost reach the platter. % e lowest linkswill make much so1er noise than the highest ones; this way will be created a natural crescendoof a clinking metal sound, which must anticipate the “&nal crash” of the music. It is also very desirable to use microphones near the iron plate and to send the ampli&ed signalto all speakers. % e important advice is to tilt one side of the iron plate c.a. 30 cm up from the2oor: this way the chain links will glide from the plate to keep the plate free for the next ones.% e iron-sound will rise up in volume and continue to ring to the last link of the chain.

If the assistants will use some rubber dampers of shock absorbers, the plate will sound muchbetter and harder. % is is because it will remain free for trilling and will not damped o* by a hard contact (e.g. with the stage or a platform)

Just before the &nal cluster in the bar 145 the 2nd percussionist will cut the &shing line torelease the chain hanged above the iron plate, please see the score for the timing details.

example 3

Until the bar 145 the audience will not see the chain if the light engineer not shine on it. It is notdesirable to show it earlier than bar 145, but to do it just before the &nal cut, or to be precisely atthe second half of the bar 144.

Strong light beams should “reveal” the chain from the dark, so that the audience can see andespecially can “feel” the iron mass falling down.

It is a good idea to turn the light immediately o* a1er the giant cluster and to put it slow(somewhere half-dark) back just before the end of the piece. Hearing and especially feeling of thisdoom-sound in complete darkness is very dramatic, but still exciting and this is an importantpart of the whole musical experience of the composition.

Right is a 3D illustration of the whole set up including the iron plate/chain combined with a&shing line etc, which are actually behind the musicians (ex.2).

List of the Italian terms used (in order of appearance)

nergico energetic

da lontano, ma espressivo from far, but expressive

molto signi&cativo very signi&cative

tranquillo, ma misterioso tranquil but, mysteriously

sarcastico sarcastic

pesante heavy

giocoso, leggermente playful, lightly

ardito e ostinato bold and obstinate

drammatico e straziante dramatically and heartrendingly

spasmodico spasmodically

infernale infernally

List of instruments used:

Flute/piccoloClarinet in BbAlto sax in EbBaritone sax in BbPercussion 1 (in order of appearance: tubular bells, wind chimes, medium tam tam*, Tibetan singing bowls in eb” and a”, rain stick medium and large, splash cymbal, 2oor tom* (so1 mallet), woodblocks, orchestra bells*, iron pipe or car break, snare (natural skin, dimly, not too sharp sound), crash cymbal, orchestral bells*, a plate of multiply (three-ply) c.a. 200cm x 130 cm

Percussion 2 (in order of appearance: orchestral cymbals, snare, low 2oor tom* (N.B. sometimes covered by cloth) or bass drum with pedal, rain stick small, orchestra bells*, kalimba or mbira, beat ring, triangle, woodblock, medium tam tam* with an iron peg and a t.t. beater, hi-hat or two orchestral cymbals hanged together, bongo s, “Bird Call” (a toy from Audubon, check the link for more info: www.audubon-birdcall.com), a plate of multiply (three-ply) c.a. 150cm x 100 cm,Also the second percussionist needs a rough iron chain (rough chain links), a nylon &shing line and a metal plate c.a. 100cm x 100cm x 0,4mm (or thicker), please take a look at the pages 4 and 5 for more useful information.

Grand piano (also needed: two so1 marimba mallets, two Tibetan singing bows (small and medium sized, pitch is not important) and some resin)Contrabass

⌘ shared between two percussion players

Acknowledgments:

⇠ anks to:

I would like to thank Het Fonds Scheppende Toonkunst in Amsterdam for the for the great &nancial support of this work.

Disclaimer

To guaranty the best quality of the DVD audio and video there were used the best DVD disks at that moment one could !nd"

Although the whole data on the DVD disks was checked and veri&ed against reading errors is it still possible that some low budget DVD players do not support the provided disk properly. Please check the compatibility of the audio equipment plenty before the &nal performance. Choose high-quality brands, the same way you select own instrument.

Digital media is very fragile; please handle it with special care!

Copyright

Finally, it is not allowed to use any music fragments, graphics, audio or DVD video samples without of the permission of the composer.

M oreover, using of the DVD guide design described above is an original idea of the composer that is notarial registered and protected by the copyright law.

So using it without permission is strictly prohibited and therefore is punishable.

Please, respect the intellectual property.

the composer

in memoriam M arleen Appels�Kleijnen